The Trump’s take another shot at TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel
There’s no reason I should be as shocked by this as I am, but the big story this morning is that Donald Trump and co are using the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents Dinner to call for the firing (again) of late night host Jimmy Kimmel.
Apparently last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live the show ran a segment where Kimmel read out jokes he would have told if he had hosted the WHCD. One of the jokes:
Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.
It’s a funny joke thanks, largely, to a really well-delivered cadence in the writing.
The attack on Kimmel came this morning by Melania Trump’s Twitter feed in a post that she absolutely wrote herself. *cough*
I don’t understand exactly how Kimmel “hides behind ABC.” What is he supposed to be doing? Standing outside the White House bare-chested shouting “Come at me cowards” ahead of fighting Trump on the front lawn like the end of Lethal Weapon?
The short-fingered vulgarian followed it up himself with a Truth Social post:
Of course, Kimmel wasn’t actually calling for violence. And this is all nonsense aimed at distracting from the Iran War, Epstein, etc etc.
But what steams my hams (it’s an Albany expression) about this story is that it is quite literally using an incident at an event celebrating freedom of speech, the White House Correspondents Dinner. It’s not as if this is a sacred event – it’s largely a back-slapping dinner that is used to stimulate stronger connections between DC and media orgs, but there’s a tremendous hypocrisy here that bothers me tremendously.
Let the TV funny man tell his jokes.
Ultimately nothing will come of this. I’d be very surprised to see either ABC or affiliate networks pull the show or seek any sort of change. The only wildcard in this is new Disney (owner of the US ABC) CEO Josh D’Amaro, but I wouldn’t think he’d act on this and completely eliminate all of the goodwill bestowed upon an incoming CEO. Trump and co burned through all of their political capital when it comes to Kimmel during the last effort. Unless he says something heinous overtly, the ability to twist Kimmel’s words into a justifiable firing has passed.
Read: Late Nighter
And, of course, viewership for the sketch is now getting the Trump Bump… 4.1m views and counting.
Kinda related… Paramount seeks FCC approval…
Paramount has formally asked the FCC to sign-off on its equity investment from three Middle East sovereign wealth funds backing its purchase of Warner Bros Discovery.
While Paramount has repeatedly said that the non USstakeholders have no voting control, it is worth noting that once (if?) the acquisition closes, 49.5% of the ownership of Paramount (which owns CBS, hence the need for FCC approval) will be foreign-owned.
Under any other government this surely wouldn’t pass…
RIP Gerry Conway
Writer Gerry Conway has died at the age of 73 following a battle with cancer. Conway has quite a number of TV writing credits, including episodes of Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Huntress, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Silk Stalkings, Diagnosis Murder, a season two episode of Baywatch Nights (surely his proudest achievement), Matlock, Father Dowling Investigates, the pilot for Dino-Riders, Centurians, Transformers, and many more.
Why Conway is actually a big deal is for his work as a comic book writer. He notably served as the Editor in Chief at Marvel in the 70s while still in his 20s. Through his career he created major characters at both Marvel and DC, including The Punisher, Ms Marvel, and Firestorm. Two of those three have led their own live-action TV series in recent years. Conway’s iconic comic arc in a 70s Spider-Man comic that saw the death of his girlfriend Gwen Stacey was also adapted into the 2014 movie The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
News Desk
Trump now claims the BBC used AI to doctor his Jan 6 speech as he seeks to sue the UK broadcaster for $10 billion. Read: Deadline
The Fox-owned Red Seat Ventures has signed a deal to handle sales for the Kill Tony podcast across audio and video platforms, with the show distributed on Tubi, Fox One, and Supercast. Read: THR
Oprah’s production company Harpo Entertainment has signed a deal with Amazon-owned Wondery to distribute and sell ads for The Oprah Winfrey Podcast on audio and video. The podcast will also start to appear across Amazon platforms like Prime Video, with the video version still available via YouTube. Read: Deadline
Look out Apple Fitness+, starting this week, 1400 Peloton classes will be available on Spotify. Read: THR
Expect The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to start rolling out on PVOD platforms from May 5, which seems very soon. Read: Polygon
The CW has picked up Canadian show Private Eyes West Coast, which is the spin-off from Jason Priestley’s show Private Eyes. Read: Deadline
Great news for US media and entertainment CEOs: pay packages in 2025 saw a 117% surge from 2024. A reminder to any CEOs that read Always Be Watching… a subscription for you and your staff to this fine newsletter is just a click away. Read: Deadline
Trailer Park
House of The Dragon is back on HBO Max for season 3 June 21.
Pop Culture Jeopardy! returns for season 2 on Netflix for new episodes weekdays starting May 11.
Barrabrava returns to Prime Video for season 2 May 22.
The Master Cutter debuts on Netflix May 8.
In Baclaran, a former scout ranger turned tailor hides his secret life as a tracker - until he takes in a street-smart girl and is hired to hunt her down.
Thank You, Next returns for season 3 on Netflix May 8.
My Royal Nemesis debuts May 8 on Netflix.
You’re Killing Me debuts May 18 on Acorn TV.
Set in a quaint, New England town, the mystery follows bestselling novelist, Allie (Brooke Shields), who forms an unlikely alliance with an aspiring writer and podcaster, Andi (Amalia Williamson), to find the killer of a close friend.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
Consider becoming a paid supporter of Always Be Watching.
Connect with Dan on Bluesky. Connect with Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. Challenge him on the NYT word game Crossplay. Email Dan @ alwaysbewatching.com or just reply to this email.
